Associate Professor Molly Patterson, a key member of the science leadership team, is co-leading this initiative. The current expedition coincides with the Antarctic summer, while a second phase targeting the Crary Ice Stream is planned for the following year. This season's 27-member "on-ice" team includes Brendan Reilly from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by 13 to 16.4 feet if fully melted. Studies suggest collapse may already be unavoidable in areas like the Thwaites Glacier, or "Doomsday Glacier," where warm ocean currents hasten melting. However, colder waters beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, which helps stabilize the inland ice, offer some hope. Scientists are now investigating whether, and when, this critical ice shelf could melt.
"This international partnership highlights how we can address some of the most pressing and challenging science questions related to the impacts of global change that will affect society," said Patterson, co-chief scientist of SWAIS2C.
The mission involves melting through 580 meters of ice, traversing a 55-meter ocean cavity, and drilling into the seabed to retrieve a 200-meter sediment core. These samples, buried beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, could provide unprecedented insights into how the ice sheet responded during Earth's last interglacial period 125,000 years ago, when temperatures were roughly 1.5 C higher than pre-industrial levels - comparable to current conditions driven by human-induced climate change.
The research team hopes to detect marine algae in the core, a sign that the ice sheet retreated to allow open ocean conditions. "Retrieving this sample from such a remote location will help us build a much clearer picture of how the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will respond to future warming, which parts will melt first, and which parts will remain," said co-chief scientist Tina van de Flierdt from Imperial College London.
Last year's attempt to drill in the same region encountered technical setbacks despite reaching the seafloor. The endeavor marked the first deep geological sampling so far from any Antarctic base, approximately 700 miles inland, near the ice sheet's center.
Describing SWAIS2C as "the discovery for our lifetime," the team hopes their findings will inform strategies for adapting to sea-level rise and underscore the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Using the past to help prepare for our future," said co-chief scientist Richard Levy from GNS Science and Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, the mission embodies a concerted effort to understand the interplay between climate and ice in shaping Earth's future.
Related Links
Binghamton University
Beyond the Ice Age
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